Either Transport Minister Barbara Creecy starts making her portfolio straighten up and fly right, or she bails out herself.
SAA planes. Picture: Gallo Images/Jacques Stander
Is the suspension of acting South African Airways (SAA) CEO Matshela Seshibe yet another case of a high-flying ANC comrade brought crashing to the ground after an appointment to a senior position, despite a glaring lack of relevant experience or competence?
His suspension came just four months after he was appointed and followed two years as head of SAA’s Air Chefs catering arm. Interestingly, in the days before Seshibe’s suspension, a report emerged about listeriosis contamination at one of Air Chefs’ food-processing facilities.
Our sources in the airline speculate the report was leaked to set Seshibe up for a fall. However, his previous job, presiding over another failure of a state-owned enterprise, DayBreak Chicks, was also not a stellar success for him and he left under a governance cloud.
The aviation sector seems to be the haven of choice for the comrades these days: tenders are swapped around like candy at a party between the state companies and authorities in the sector. All the while, questions of efficiency, never mind safety in the skies, keep emerging.
Either Transport Minister Barbara Creecy starts making her portfolio straighten up and fly right, or she bails out herself. There is no third way.
